Ancient Memories
by Savari
Summary: Isis, Malik, Yugi and Bakura have been having strange dreams about their ancient counterparts. What will happen when they are pulled back in time and given the chance to right some wrongs? 18/12/2010 Continued by Echo Uchiha see profile for link


 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Yugioh. I think that should be fairly obvious! 

**Key: **

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- anything in between two of these dash line things is a dream.

_Italics _is either a dream or someone thinking.

_'Italics' _Yugi and Yami talking with their mind-link thingy. You'll see what I mean.

Uh... I think that's it.

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* * *

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**Chapter One: Dreams**

**-Cairo, Egypt: 2004, 12:57 am**

Isis Ishtar sighed and closed her eyes, massaging her temples in a feeble attempt to assuage the pounding headache that had been developing over the past hour. She knew she should have taken a couple of aspirin at the first signs, but the seemingly endless mountains of paperwork that had been piling up ever since the beginning of the Battle City catastrophe weren't going to fix themselves. The museum had been closed while she was in Japan, but there were still bills to pay and documents that needed filling out, emails about recently discovered artifacts and all manner of other little jobs that needed doing if the museum was going to re-open on time. She didn't have time for headaches, and she certainly didn't have time to be 'daydreaming' about the Millennium Necklace, but that didn't seem to be enough to stop her from doing it. For the past few weeks Isis had been getting dreadful headaches that had only worsened with time, and she had been unable to focus properly on anything for the vague and intensely annoying feeling that something was missing, that she had forgotten something. It had taken her a while to figure it out, but she finally realized what that something was; the Millennium Necklace. But that was stupid, she hadn't forgotten it, she had freely given it to Yugi Motou. Unfortunately that didn't do anything to alleviate the feeling that she had forgotten something, if anything, knowing what was wrong only made her feel worse. With a groan Isis pushed herself to her feet and wandered tiredly out of her office and downstairs to the kitchen for some aspirin, careful not to wake Malik as she passed his bedroom door. She almost cringed when she thought of her younger brother, remembering what he had become. Isis quickly forced her thoughts away from that subject, lest she fall into the dark pit of despair that awaited her there. Certainly her brother was no longer actively evil, but she could still feel the dangerous emotions simmering just beneath the surface of his cold, arrogant façade whenever she spent any amount of time with him. Not that he ventured out of his room often, and when he did it was only very briefly, and he rarely said more than two words to her. Isis knew Rishid did not fare much better with Malik, though he remained resolute and loyal in the face of his brother's iciness. Isis shook her head to clear her thoughts, only to trigger another sharp stab of pain from the persistent headache. Gods, this was getting annoying, the headaches, and the thoughts of her Necklace... No, not _her_ Necklace; it was Yugi's now, and it had never truly belonged to her in the first place, not really. Muttering a curse under her breath, Isis swallowed the aspirin with a gulp of water and set down the glass, bracing herself against the kitchen cupboard for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts and shepherd them away from the Millennium Items, and her brother. She glanced up at the microwave and was startled to see that it was 1:22 am. She yawned and blinked tiredly. How she'd lost track of so much time was beyond her; paperwork couldn't possibly be that absorbing, could it? Shaking her head again, this time rewarded with a slightly less sharp stab of pain, Isis set off back upstairs to go to bed and was startled when she heard Malik's door creak open.

»«

Malik couldn't sleep; his head was filled with unnerving thoughts of power that he simply could not seem to quash. He had been tossing and turning for over an hour and a half now, and he still couldn't seem to make his brain shut up. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see a flash of gold, feel a stab of intense anger and hear an enraged howl he recognized as his Yami's. Then he would snap his eyes open, pound a clenched fist into his pillow and stare out the window, trying hard not to blink for the next few minutes, before coming to the conclusion that he was being utterly stupid and going through the sequence all over again. Now he looked over at his alarm clock for about the millionth time and saw that it was 1:15 am. With an irritated sigh he swung his legs over the side of his bed, throwing the thin sheet off and stood up. For a moment he simply stood there, uncertain as to what he should do now. Maybe he should tell Isis, she might be able to help him. He quickly dismissed this thought; Isis had enough on her plate at the moment without having to worry about her brother's looming insanity and he didn't want to wake her at this hour anyway- she'd seemed very tired lately. Malik wandered over to the window and pushed it open silently, letting the cool night breeze wash over him. He breathed in deep and leaned on the sill, looking out over the city, or what he could see of it. Cairo was beautiful at night, so peaceful and familiar, but it brought Malik little comfort now. Once, the faint hum of the city would have soothed him, but he was distracted and tense at the moment, and he didn't see the tranquil beauty in it, only the shadows. Malik rested his head in his arms, letting his soft, pale gold hair settle down to hide his face from the moonlight. He felt exhausted and restless at the same time, if that were possible, and it aggravated him to no end. He hadn't been able to catch a moment's dreamless sleep in weeks; every time he dared to let his mind relax enough to slip into unconsciousness he would be overwhelmed with bloody nightmares, filled with pained screams, murderous howling and tantalizing flashes of gold that made his chest constrict with longing. He knew what it was that haunted his dreams, though he was loathe to admit that an inanimate object could hold so much power over him. The Millennium Rod plagued his mind constantly, both when he was awake and otherwise, however as long as he was conscious he could keep the thoughts at bay, pretend he didn't feel the constant tugging at his mind, smother the power that called to him. With a bitter growl Malik pushed himself away from the window and stalked to the door, feeling the need to stretch his legs, though his sleep-deprived brain seemed to beg him to go back to bed. He opened the door, wincing at the loud creak it made, and came face-to-face with his sister.

"Isis!'

"Malik!"

The two siblings stared at each other in surprise. Malik shifted uncomfortably under his sister's gaze. The main reason he rarely ventured out of his room of late was because he didn't want Isis to see the dark circles under his eyes, and have to explain why he hadn't been sleeping properly. Then he noticed how haggard his sister looked, and his discomfort turned to concern.

"I thought you would be asleep at this hour, Malik," Isis said tiredly, scanning his face with obvious uncertainty. She doubted he could be up to much good if he was sneaking out at this hour. Then she realized he was dressed only in boxer shorts; surely he wouldn't be going out to wreak havoc without even dressing properly.

"I... couldn't sleep," Malik looked away from her face, fixing his eyes determinedly at an indistinguishable point somewhere above her left shoulder. He never could lie very well to his sister, though this wasn't really a lie, he simply omitted the whole truth. That wasn't a crime, and it wasn't as though she had specifically asked if he had been having very dark thoughts about a certain Millennium Item...

"Oh. Is anything wrong?" Isis' voice snapped him out of his mental dialogue, and the genuine concern in her voice made him return his gaze, unbidden, to her face. He sighed and swore softly under his breath. He didn't want to burden her with this, and he had spent several weeks avoiding her simply so she wouldn't have to worry, but she was so honestly concerned that something was bothering him, he simply found himself unable to lie.

"Well... I've been having some- unpleasant- dreams lately..." He started, uncertain exactly how to put how he had been feeling into words. He looked up into her stormy-blue eyes and sighed. It would probably be best to just come out with it.

"Dreams about... the Millennium Rod, and other things. Bloody battles and horrible screams, and I get this strange feeling, like I _need _to find the Rod, almost as though it's calling to me... I know that sounds strange," He trailed off and dropped his eyes to the ground, unable to face the look of disappointment and maybe even fear he was sure he would see in her eyes. Isis' gasp made him look up, and instead of fear he saw astonishment, shock and... understanding?

"I've felt it too, Malik. It's like something's pulling at your thoughts, always there in the back of your mind, and you can't escape it or ignore it?" Isis watched her brother's face as he looked up in surprise.

"Yeah, that's it exactly, and I can't sleep because every time I close my eyes all I can see is the Rod and the battles and..." Malik shook his head, determined not to remember the rest. But despite the horrible memories that still lingered, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest; Isis would know what to do.

Isis smiled for the first time in weeks, relief washing over her at her brother's admission. So he wasn't returning to his old, homicidal ways at all! Though she wasn't certain what was happening now was a whole lot better, it was a start.

"Tell me everything."

»«

"Okay, Malik... I know this is not something you want to do, but I think it's necessary." Isis looked at her brother with pleading eyes, "We need to know what your dreams have been about."

Malik glared at her, "Haven't you been having dreams too? Why can't _you _do this instead?" He couldn't believe Isis wanted him to deliberately venture further into his dreams, further into the madness. He shook his head stubbornly, fixing Isis with a determined scowl.

"My dreams are no where near as vivid as yours, Malik! I can barely recall any details from my dreams at all, only a vague sense of foreboding and danger, whereas you seem to be able to remember a lot. Please, we need to know more about the dreams if we are to have any chance at stopping them." Isis laid a hand on her brother's arm and looked imploringly into his eyes, "Please, we can't live like this for much longer."

Malik sighed and glared at his sister, "Fine, but if I go insane and start killing people it's your fault!"

Isis nodded and stood up, "Well, there's no time like the present. I'll go wake Rishid, you go to your room and... start trying to fall asleep, I guess."

»«

Malik lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking. _What if I really do go insane? What if I try to hurt Isis and Rishid? Gods, this is too dangerous, I can't do this... I could never live with myself if I hurt them. _Malik groaned and closed his eyes. _I don't want to lose control again. I don't want to hurt people and I don't want it to be alright to hurt people again. _He felt his achingly tired mind start to drift off. _For the first time in a long time I actually have a chance to be normal, to be truly human and maybe even be happy one day. I don't want to lose that. But if I don't do this we may never find out how to stop these dreams. Isis was right, we can't live like this for much longer. _Distantly Malik registered that Isis and Rishid had entered his room. _This isn't just about me, anyway. Isis has these dreams too, and she looks really exhausted... Alright, I'll do this for Isis._

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

_My feet sink into the burning sand as I walk, covering them in scorching hot grains, like tiny scalding embers. The still, heavy air shimmers above the sand dunes, and the leaden silence presses on my eardrums almost painfully. Dark, roiling storm clouds meet the highest dune in the distance, dusky fawn against ominous gray. I shake my head as a rumbling, almost like thunder greets my ears, growing louder by the second. The low, steady sound is broken here and there by loud shouts and war cries. I recognize these sounds... They are very familiar to me, but my clouded mind cannot seem to recall where I know them from. I remember flashes of steel, blood, sand and cries of victory and pain. A battle. My eyes widen and I realize that I must escape, for if I don't I will be caught in the crossfire without a weapon, without a horse, completely defenseless. I run as well as I can, though I haven't had food nor drink in three days, and I can barely stay on my feet. I get only a few steps before I collapse, the sand burning my face and stinging my eyes. I cough, but I cannot get the gritty sand out of my mouth and nostrils. I scrub my eyes with my equally dirty hands, desperately trying to see, but I can only catch blurred glimpses of horses and men before the darkness overtakes me. I cannot fight any longer. I am so tired... I'm sorry my dear sister, I promised I would see you again... I'm sorry._

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Malik! Malik, wake up!" Isis and Rishid shook their younger brother desperately, trying to wake him from his fitful slumber. He had started twitching and convulsing and calling "I'm sorry, sister, I'm sorry!" a few minutes before, and they couldn't seem to pull him out of it. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he stopped writhing about, though he was breathing heavily and looking about wildly, as though he expected to be attacked.

"It's okay, Malik, it's just us," Isis said soothingly, trying to calm her obviously panicked brother.

"Isis?" Malik drew in a few deep breaths and stared at his sister, utterly shocked to find his vision perfect, his nostrils and mouth devoid of sand and his body working fine.

"Was that a dream? I-I was asleep?" Malik asked, desperation in his usually cool, lavender eyes.

Isis nodded and smiled reassuringly, "Yes, it was just a dream."

"N-no... I was asleep, but it wasn't a dream." Malik shook his head and pushed himself into a sitting position. "That wasn't a dream, Isis, I know it wasn't. I've had dreams before, and that was _not_ a dream. I don't know what it actually _was, _but it wasn't a dream."

Isis frowned, "Are you certain, Malik?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely positive that was not a dream!" Malik cried, standing up. "And I'm equally positive that it had something to do with the Millennium Items." He began to pace around, restless once more, now that he had fully awakened.

"We should call Yugi Motou and see if he has noticed anything. After all, he does have our items now, and one of his own." At the surprised looks both Isis and Rishid, who had been standing silently by, gave him, Malik clarified, "_You_ should call Yugi Motou, I mean."

Isis smiled faintly at that and nodded, "Yes, I think that is an excellent idea. But first, tell us about your dream."

»«

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

_I sit on my throne of gold, making every attempt to look calm and regal, though I cannot fully mask the apprehension and sadness that weighs upon my chest and burrows into my heart. I watch the huge double doors at the opposite end of my throne room, waiting for High Priest Seto to bring in that traitorous son of a bitch, Malik. I know I must continue to hate him for what he's done, but I cannot help but wonder what happened to make him so bitter and angry. He was not always this way, I am sure. No one is born with hatred in their heart and I cannot fathom what he must have been through to turn him into the twisted creature that he is today. I shake my head angrily, trying to force these disturbing thoughts away. I have to stay angry, so that I may order justice to be done. Malik can no longer be considered human... After all the innocent blood he has spilled and the damage he has caused to so many lives; he deserves the punishment I must give out. I am pulled from my thoughts by the scraping and almost thunderous creaking of the doors being opened. The High Priest stands in the doorway, cool and regal as always, though as he approaches I can see the tension in his face. He turns and motions to someone I cannot see, and two guards drag in a disheveled, starving creature with dirty saffron hair and surprisingly clear lavender eyes. My own eyes narrow as I watch this wretched being, and I try to ignore how divided I am over what I must do. I am saddened that Malik had to endure such pain... He is already disturbed enough without having to suffer any more hardships; and yet the sight of him also makes me feel uncharacteristic rage. How dare he hurt innocent people? What gives him the right to decide when it is time for a life to end? I cannot suppress a low growl of rage when I think of what he has done. All empathy for him has vanished now, and my decision is infinitely easier to make. I look into his eyes and murmur "Have him hanged!" I see the High Priest nod out of the corner of my eye, and the guards murmur a respectful "As is your will, Pharaoh." _

_When Malik does not seem to respond to this, and his eyes remain distant and tinged with misery, I cannot repress a strong surge of guilt. But I cannot take the words back now. It has been said and there is nothing left to do but wait. _

_I nod to the guards who hold Malik upright, "Take him to the dungeons. He will be hanged tomorrow at sunrise." _

_They turn and drag him off. He doesn't resist and I wonder if there is anything left of him in that frail, dying body. I start when High Priest Seto coughs slightly. "What is it, Seto?" I ask wearily._

"_You did the right thing, my Pharaoh. There is nothing left of Ishtar. This punishment not only carries out justice, but allows mercy." _

_I look back at Seto and nod, effectively dismissing him. He bows and leaves the chamber, and now I am alone to ponder what has happened. Perhaps my High Priest is right._

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

**-Domino City, Japan: 2004, 3:32 am**

Yugi Motou awoke to an irritating ringing. It didn't sound quite like his alarm clock, but what else could it be? His sleep-fogged mind reasoned that it must be the alarm clock, and it wasn't until he turned over in his bed to silence it that he realized it was still very dark, and he had set his alarm to go off at 6:00. So unless his room had somehow been transported to the Shadow Realm during the night, the ringing must be coming from somewhere else. It only occurred to him that it sounded like the phone as he was sitting up and rubbing his eyes sleepily. Suddenly awake he lunged for the phone on his bedside table and hurriedly lifted the receiver to his ear.

"Hello, this is Yugi Motou," Yugi mumbled as brightly as he could at this ungodly hour.

"Hello, Yugi, this is Isis Ishtar. I'm sorry if I called at a bad time, but this is somewhat urgent."

Yugi became considerably more alert at Isis' grave tone.

"Oh, that's okay; I would have had to get up soon anyway. So, what's up?"

"Well..." Isis paused as though she was uncertain how to continue, "Malik and I have been having, ah, dreams... about the Millennium Necklace and Rod. You do still have them in your possession, don't you?"

"Yes, I do... Isis, what's this about? Are you and Malik okay?"

"Malik and I are fine, at the moment, but we _are_ concerned that something may be going on with the Millennium Items. We've been having strange dreams that I think may be memories of some kind, and it's almost as though... almost as though our Items are calling to us."

Yugi was silent for a moment after that, trying to process this information in his still sleep-fogged mind. The dream he had been having returned to him in a flash and he wondered if he should tell Isis. It hadn't been the first dream like that he'd had, far from it, in fact if he tried he could recall many other times he had awoken with strange memories running around in his head, only to fall back asleep and forget about them until the next time.

"I just remembered, I've been having strange dreams, too. Mine are set in ancient Egypt, and I think I see things through Yami's eyes." Yugi shivered as he remembered Malik in his dream. He decided that should they end up comparing dreams he would leave that part out.

"I don't remember much about my own dreams, but from what Malik has described about his, the memories aren't exactly pleasant."

"No, mine aren't either," Yugi sighed, "Do you know anything about them? What they mean?"

"Not really. I've been searching through everything we have here and all I have been able to come up with is that these dreams are most likely memories." Isis paused for a moment, then, "Have you spoken with your Yami about your dreams? He may be able to help."

"No, I haven't. Up until a moment ago I didn't even remember having them! Hold on a moment while I wake Yami." Yugi lowered the phone and closed his eyes, retreating into his mind. After a moment he found himself in a bright, warm room filled with toys and a sense of childlike innocence. This was his Soul Room. Yugi could not help but smile; this place was very familiar and comforting after the strange news he had received from Isis. He moved almost reluctantly towards the door out of his Soul Room, and pulled it open, stepping through into a dark hallway, filled with shadows and uncertainty. Quickly he crossed the hallway and knocked politely on his Yami's door, which was black with silver metal spiderwebbed across it, and a large, gold Sennen eye engraved at the top.

'_Yami? Are you awake?' _Yugi sent an urgent thought to his Yami through the mind-link they shared. He only got a vague, disgruntled feeling in return before a sleepy, _'Yugi? Is something wrong?'_ The door opened to reveal a very tired looking Yami Yugi, who looked at his Hikari with both concern and mild annoyance. Behind him, in his own Soul Room, was a dark maze of corridors and stairs twisting and twining around one another in a mass of confusion.

Yugi hesitated, wondering if he should tell Yami about his own dream. Finally he settled for just telling him about Malik and Isis. _'Well, Isis just called and she says she and Malik have been having strange dreams about their Millennium Items and,' _Here he paused, uncertain about mentioning the memories of ancient Egypt. Yami would likely be frustrated that Malik, of all people, and Isis were gaining memories of their past lives, while he was still in the dark about his own not-so-past life. Yugi continued carefully, trying to gauge Yami's reaction by his deep plum-colored eyes, which were presently narrowed in suspicion. _'and about Egypt. Isis thinks they may be remembering things from their past lives.' _Yami's eyes widened in disbelief and for a moment he looked too shocked to say anything. Finally he got out a strangled sounding, _'What?'_

Yugi nodded and lowered his eyes, now glad that he hadn't mentioned his own dreams; for him to receiving memories of Yami's past life while Yami himself could still barely recall a thing...

Yami covered his pained expression quickly, and smiled reassuringly at his downcast Hikari.

_'Don't worry, Yugi, I'm sure I'll remember something soon.' _Yami reached down and touched Yugi's shoulder, making the smaller boy look up, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

Yugi nodded, blinking back the tears, _'I know, Yami... I just wish I could help you get them back faster.' _He tried not to let his guilt transmit itself through the mind-link, though this took considerable effort; he had not tried to hide anything from his other half for a long time, and he wished he didn't have to now. Yugi shook his head, forcing away the guilty thoughts. He had to ask Yami if he had any idea what was going on with Isis and Malik.

_'Yami, do you have any idea about what's going on with Isis and Malik? Isis says she been through all their documents and artifacts, but she can't find any record of anything like this ever happening before. She sounds really exhausted, Yami... Do you know of anything_ _that could help?' _Yugi looked up at his Yami who had become suddenly distant. The taller boy shook his head before looking back down at Yugi with an unreadable expression on his proud face.

_'I'm sorry Yugi, but I don't know much more about all of this than you do... If I had my memories back, then maybe...' _The spirit looked away again, his eyes becoming cold and hard in an expression that reminded Yugi forcefully of Seto Kaiba.

Yugi bowed his head again, debating whether or not to tell his Yami about his own dreams. Finally deciding that now was probably not the best time - Yami persisted with the very passable Kaiba impression - Yugi returned his soft violet eyes to the cold Yami.

_'Well, if you think of anything...'_ Yugi trailed off as his Yami turned away with a short _'I will.'_ and shut the door to his Soul Room firmly behind him.

Yugi sighed heavily and returned to his own Soul Room, pausing to gather his thoughts before he went back to finish his conversation with Isis. No doubt she would be disappointed that Yami couldn't help them. But maybe if Yugi shared the dreams he had been having with his darker half they might trigger his memories... The Hikari shook his head. Yami probably wouldn't come out of his Soul Room at the moment anyway. Yugi sighed once more and returned to his body.

»«

Yami paced, back and forth, up stairs, through doors and back to the main chamber of his Soul Room, unable to get any rest after Yugi had revealed that _Malik_ was remembering things from three thousand years ago. The spirit growled under his breath as he thought of Malik. It felt almost as though he was stealing Yami's memories from him. Yami knew, of course, that this was ridiculous, but he just couldn't push the feeling away, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how he reasoned with himself. Finally he slid down one of the walls to sit slumped over on the ground, head on his knees, hands wrapped around his legs. He couldn't think about this anymore, because he knew if he did he would only get angry again, and this wasn't Malik's fault, however much he wanted to blame the Egyptian.

»«

Isis set the phone down after saying goodbye to Yugi, who had promised to ring her if he found anything out. She hadn't really held much hope that Yami could help them; how could he know anything about this? But she had still been disappointed, and wished she could have spoken to the Pharaoh herself, but when she had asked if she could Yugi had nervously told her that Yami didn't really feel like talking at the moment.

Isis rested her head in her hands and sighed. The only thing she could do now was go back over everything; scour the scrolls, parchments and tablets again. Maybe she could find a way to contact Shadi- he might know something about this. In fact, if anyone would know something about this it would be Shadi. She just wasn't sure how to go about finding him. She desperately needed sleep; her eyes felt gritty, her head was pounding again, she couldn't focus on anything, and every time she closed her eyes a flash of gold and a sense of wrongness would overcome her, rendering her useless for about five minutes after as she tried to force her mind away from the Millennium Necklace. At least now she didn't have to worry that her brother was turning evil again; despite the lack of sleep and the perpetual annoyed scowl on his face, he was better than he had been in years. He wasn't exactly sociable and he still didn't talk much, but at least he didn't spend so much time in his room now. Isis tried to focus on these thoughts when she was trying to steer her brain away from the Necklace, and it did work pretty well, for now. She wasn't sure how much longer it would, though; things just seemed to be getting worse. She sighed laid her head down on her arms, closing her eyes and doing her best to ignore the call of the Millennium Necklace. She was so tired, her brain seemed to be working at half its normal pace, and her head was just so heavy. Surely a quick nap wouldn't hurt...

* * *

**A/N:** Aaah! Don't hurt me! I've only seen up to the end of the Noa Arc (Heehee, Noa Arc!) of the english dub and I can't actually remember that much about it, so if there are huge mistakes and such (very likely), please tell me. Nicely. If you can. 

I don't actually know what happens to Malik (Marik, I just like the name Malik better - same goes for Odion/Rishid) yet, but I intend to do some serious internet research before I go much further with this story.

Anyway: next on 'Ancient Memories' (lol, that just sounds strange) Isis and Bakura dream. Not sure exactly what else will happen yet, heh...


End file.
